Water Issues in the Santa Ynez Valley This information is intended to help educate WE Watch members and other Valley residents on issues related primarily to water supplies in the Valley and to a more limited extent on wastewater and water quality issues. Topics are organized as follows: Surface Water Santa Ynez River Flow and Underflow Ground Water Imported Water from the State Water Project Wastewater and Stormwater Management Water Conservation, Water Quality, and Desalination This document begins with a list of contents and acronyms. Throughout the document there are links to more detailed information on various water agencies’ websites. Contents Abbreviations Used Surface Water: Cachuma Reservoir; Jameson Reservoir Gibraltar Reservoir Santa Ynez River Flow and Underflow Ground Water Imported Water from the State Water Project The SWP and CCWA Delta Conveyance Project (Delta Tunnel Project) Assignment of State Water Project Contract Suspended Table A Reacquisition SWP Contract Extension Wastewater & Stormwater Management Solvang’s Wastewater Treatment Options Santa Ynez Community Services District Los Olivos CSD Water Conservation, Water Quality, and Desalination Water Conservation Water Quality Desalination ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS DOCUMENT AF Acre-feet BDCP Bay Delta Conservation Plan BOS Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors CAG Community Advisory Group CCWA Central Coast Water Authority COMB Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board CWA Clean Water Act ID No 1 Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District, Improvement District No 1 DCP Delta Conveyance Project DWR Department of Water Resources, State of California EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FCWCD Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Santa Barbara County gpd Gallons per day GSP Groundwater Sustainability Plan mgd Million gallons per day NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service RWQCB Regional Water Quality Control Board SGMA Sustainable Groundwater Management Act SWP State Water Project SYR Santa Ynez River SYRWCD Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load USBR U. S. Bureau of Reclamation WEW WE Watch WWTP Waste Water Treatment Plant WATER ISSUES IN THE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY Surface Water Cachuma Project The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) owns and operates the Cachuma Reservoir and Bradbury Dam, along the Santa Ynez River, as parts of the federal government’s Cachuma Project. USBR has a contract with the Santa Barbara County Water Agency which in turn has subcontracts with Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District, Improvement District #1 (ID#1) and four water providers on the south coast: the City of Santa Barbara, Goleta Water District, Montecito Water District, and the Carpinteria Valley Water District. ID#1 is the only SYV water provider that has an allocation (10.31%) of Cachuma water.The five sub- contractors are the “member units” of the Cachuma Project. They formed a “joint powers authority”, the Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board (COMB), to manage and track delivery of the project’s water and to maintain the pipes that carry water through the Tecolote Tunnel to the south coast and then through the south coast conduit which goes all the way to Carpinteria. USBR remains the owner of the reservoir and dam. It controls downstream water releases, controls flows to the south coast, issues monthly reports on inflows and outflows, oversees COMB, and requires management plans from COMB members. USBR’s contract expires in 2021, so it is drafting a new contract. USBR has not yet shared a draft, nor set forth a process for public involvement, or determined whether an Environmental Impact Report will be prepared. WE Watch expectsthe new contract will address several key issues including: ensuring ID#1’s allocation; steelhead management; clarifying the County Water Agency’s role; and ensuring adequate releases for downstream water rights holders. For more information on the Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board, visit its website at: https://www.cachuma-board.org/ Jameson Lake The Montecito Water District completed construction of Juncal Dam and Jameson Lake on the upper reach of the Santa Ynez River in 1930. Water is diverted to the Montecito area through the Doulton Tunnel, which is a 2.2-mile long tunnel that conveys surface water from Jameson Lake through the Santa Ynez Mountains to the District's Bella Vista treatment plant through the tunnel. Gibraltar Dam and Reservoir Gibraltar Dam and reservoir are located on the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County, about 9 miles north of the Cityof Santa Barbara upstream from Lake Cachuma. The City owns and operates the dam and reservoir. Stored water is diverted through Mission Tunnel to the Cater Water Treatment Plant in Santa Barbara. The dam is a concrete arch dam constructed in 1920 with an original capacity of 14,500 AF. Diversions from the Santa Ynez River are limited by the 1930 Gin Chow legal judgment and the 1989 Upper Santa Ynez River Operations Agreement (USYROA, also known as the "Pass Through Agreement"). The USYROA was developed to resolve concerns that the City’s planned raising of Gibraltar Dam would impact the feasibility of a potential Cachuma enlargement project. The City agreed to defer the planned raising of Gibraltar Dam in exchange for the right to “pass through” some of its Gibraltar water to Lake Cachuma for delivery to the City through Tecolote Tunnel. The amount of Pass Through water is based on the difference in Gibraltar spills under actual conditions as compared to a hypothetical “Base Reservoir.” The Base Reservoir is equal in size to the 1988 reservoir and “operated” (by computer model) according to a compromise interpretation of the Gin Chow judgment agreed to as a part of the USYROA. A basic goal of the agreement is to allow the City to stabilize the yield from Gibraltar at approximately 1988 levels while minimizing impacts on the Cachuma Project and other downstream interests. Santa Ynez River Flow and Underflow The SY River flows are visible when there’s enough rainfall to generate surface runoff and when there are releases from Lake Cachuma. Even when there is no visible surface flow, there is water underflow within the riverbed. ID#1, Solvang and Buellton have water rights allowing them to tap into this underflow with wells that provide a portion of their water needs. A key issue for the City of Solvang is whether it will drill new wells into the SYR underflow. The city has run into concerns raised by various parties, including: ID#1, a private land owner, State and federal agencies, and CalTrout. Another key issue for all water providers is what relationship, if any, exists between SYR underflow and nearby groundwater basins. Both the SYR’s surface flow and its underflow are enhanced when USBR releases Cachuma water downstream. These releases can occur for various reasons, such as: (1) when the reservoir level is nearing capacity and/or a storm is predicted; (2) to provide water for steelhead habitat; and (3) when downstream water rights holders (Lompoc) acting through the SYRWCD request releases consistent with their entitlement to Cachuma water for groundwater replenish- ment. The Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District (SYRWCD), which is is not a water provider, represents water rights holders along the SY River from Cachuma to the Lompoc Plain.SYRWCD can ask USBR to release water from Cachuma Reservoir based on several factors, including: groundwater levels downstream, the rate of SY River flow at the Alisal Bridge in Solvang, and the level of water in Cachuma. Cachuma water releases to help improve steelhead fish habitat are based on the US National Marine Fisheries Service’s biological opinions. An opinion was issued in 2000 under which water is pumped into Hilton Creek very close to Bradbury Dam. This creek then flows into the Santa Ynez River. An updated opinion by NMFS is still awaited. SYRWCD’s role in requesting releases, and the basis for those requests, might be specifically addressed in USBR’s new Cachuma contract.Likewise, the requirements of NMFS biological opinions should be incorporated into the contract. For information on COMB’s role in water releases for fish, see: https://www.cachuma-board.org/fisheries Ground Water All water providers in the SYV rely on groundwater for part or all of their water supply. Buellton, Solvang and ID#1 have groundwater wells in upland basins separate from their riverbed underflow wells. Groundwater aquifers are recharged through infiltration from rainfall, creek and river flow, agricultural runoff, urban stormwater runoff, and wastewater discharge into ponds or creeks. Unlike other water sources in California, groundwater was not regulated until 2014 when the CA legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Prior to the SGMA, California was one of two major states that did not monitor or control ground water. SGMA requires local agencies to develop a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) and then manage their basins according to the plan. It applies to groundwater basins defined as over drafted or critically over drafted and set deadlines for the development of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) and for the achievement of groundwater sustainability by 2040. For the Santa Ynez Valley, divided into three Groundwater Management Areas and three corresponding Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, it set January 2022 as the deadline for the Groundwater Sustainability Plans. Department of Water Resources (DWR) determined that the Santa Ynez River watershed groundwater basin is a medium priority for regulation under SGMA. In Santa Barbara County, only the Cuyama Valley Basin is a high priority. The entire SY Valley has been divided into 3 sub- areas for purpose of planning and analysis. The Western Management Area is centered on Lompoc; the Central Management Area on Buellton; and the Eastern Management Area encompasses Solvang, Santa Ynez, the County of Santa Barbara, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.Each area is required to develop and submit a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) by January 2022.